                a) Field of the Invention        
The invention relates to a tie down bar, particularly a bar that is adapted to be retrofitted to pickup trucks. It is common practice to mount motorcycles or the like to the bed region of a pickup truck. Oftentimes, pluralities of motorcycles are desired to be attached to a pickup truck and there are limited fixing points to attach the mounting straps to pickup. Alternately, there are no suitable mounting locations to attach the mounting straps (e.g. tie downs). An additional problem associated with mounting a motorcycle to the bed region of a pickup truck is oftentimes a substantial amount of force is exerted upon the mounting straps where the front shock of the motorcycle is compressed and the mounting straps have a relatively high amount of tension exerted thereon. This tension is transferred to the mounting point of the pickup truck which oftentimes is a single point load. Further, an opposite longitudinally forward force is exerted by the tire to the front region of the pickup truck.
b) Background Art
In the operating environment, when the rider of the motorcycle places riding the motorbike up a ramp. The ramp is positioned at the tailgate region of the pickup. Riding up a ramp requires a fair degree of skill depending upon the height of the pickup truck and length of the ramp, but oftentimes this can be a difficult task, particularly for inexperienced rider. To ride the motorcycle up the ramp, a certain amount of velocity is required and oftentimes the rider must accelerate up the ramp to ensure that he makes it to the top. This is particularly dangerous because oftentimes the ramp has insufficient lateral width and if the rider were to stop halfway up there is no suitable area in the lateral direction to support the rider. Therefore the rider must rely on the gyroscopic procession of the tires to keep him upright as he rides onto the bed region. Oftentimes, the rider uses excessive speed and occasionally does not transition to break after reaching the top of the ramp. This causes an impact by the tire to the front region of the pickup truck.
The front wall of a pickup truck is commonly made from a relatively thin metallic material. Oftentimes, an impact from the front tire of a motorcycle may cause a dent in the front region of the truck bed depreciating the truck's value. It is therefore desirable to prevent this impact from causing damage to the upper front region of the truck bed.
The prior art shows various methods for retrofitting rails or the like to handle payload. The U.S. Pat. No. 5,533,848 shows a pay load anchoring device where hook members are adapted to position slot plates to a mounting track. The slot plates are repositionable when the hook members are removed therefrom. The U.S. Pat. No. 4,650,382 shows a tie down rail for a truck bed that is adapted to be mounted to the lateral regions of the truck bed. Another U.S. Pat. No. 4,954,031 shows a tie rail construction having a linear upper portion and a linear lower portion at an angle where the underside of the linear upper portion is adapted to mount to the upper surface of a pickup truck or the like. The U.S. Pat. No. 4,936,724 shows a truck box top molding where slotted rails are mounted to the top portions of the pickup truck bed.
Other applications such as U.S. Pat. No. 6,270,301 shows a tie down rail that is adapted to be attached to the lateral regions of the truck. U.S. Pat. No. 6,350,089 shows a portable pickup truck tie down apparatus that mounts to a perimeter region of a pickup using a clamping mechanism. The U.S. Pat. No. 6,530,730 patent shows an article anchoring device for mounting articles to an article receiving tray. The U.S. Pat. No. 5,302,064 patent discloses a cargo tie down that permanently installs to the bed of the cargo area of the pickup truck or trailer.
The following prior art disclosures show various methods for mounting a motorcycle to the bed of a pickup truck or the like. U.S. Pat. No. 6,524,056 shows a motorcycle loading and storage apparatus where a rail structure is employed to mount the tire thereto. The U.S. Pat. No. 6,354,777 shows a harness for motorcycle loading and mounting thereto. Another application, U.S. Pat. No. 6,331,094 shows a wheel lock system for mounting a motorcycle thereto. The U.S. Pat. No. 6,179,181 shows a bike transport rack with stabilizer arms that extend rearward in the longitudinal direction to affix a bike thereto. The application 5,984,339 shows a motorcycle towing apparatus were the front wheel is locked to a securing device which wraps around the lateral portions of the wheel. Further, the disclosure and U.S. Pat. No. 5,560,526 shows a cycle and bike rack where channels are employed wrapping around the lateral portions of the wheels of the bike or cycle. On a similar note, the disclosure and 3,912,139 upstanding sidewalls help secure a cycle thereto. Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 3,785,517 shows a motorcycle carrier and chock showing a pivoting wheel sheath like channels that wraps around the lateral portions of a wheel of the front tire.
The following prior art disclosures show various tie downs formed by two or more separate members. The disclosure and U.S. Pat. No. 6,113,328 shows a tie down device where the various tie down devices are separately attached to the bed region of a truck. Further, the disclosure and 6,026,545 shows a restraint dip fitting that is adapted to have more than one fitting mount various locations to secure cargo.
The design patent 468,192 shows a rope or cable hook adapted to be mounted to trailers and trucks.